The United Coalition of Diverse Student Organizations—Coalition for short—is a collection of various clubs across campus dedicated to all forms of diversity. The coalition includes clubs such as the Black Student Union, Sister Circle, Life Paths, Spanish Club and the Multicultural Club; each club tackles a different aspect of diversity. Some, like Life Paths, seek to educate about various religions. Others, like the Black Student Union, focus on uplifting Black students on campus. Each club has a role in the Coalition.
Although Coalition officially began last year, this semester the coalition is properly kicking off. With Kareem Watts as the new advisor and a new constitution being drafted, leading member of the coalition Blade Williams was excited to discuss the upcoming events and changes.
Williams is a member of the club Spectrum, a club for the support of LGBTQIA+ students, which has been elected voice of reason in the coalition; the coalition has no leader, but a voice of reason is elected to act as a moderator and keep things on track. He’s also a driving force behind the creation of the coalition. Williams spoke about a variety of new events that are coming up, such as a campus-wide taste of diversity event in March, where each club will prepare and serve foods that are culturally related to their clubs. The Coalition will be partnering with other groups to put on a human rights week also in March.
Kareem Watts, the new advisor to the group, was actually brought on after he expressed his excitement for the concept of such a diverse group. Watts spoke of his hopes for the coalition: “I’m excited because it’s something new; all these diverse clubs coming together to build bridges. It’s a chance for students to use their voice.”
The student angle was one that Williams echoed: “This is a group where students are the forefront. Students are the ones bringing the understanding of change and acceptance to campus. That kind of stuff is just as important as what the staff does.”
Williams added another reason that the coalition was important: addressing the lack of diversity in other leadership positions around campus, such as in student senate. “Student senate is not doing enough for diversity on campus, and the people I talk to feel the same way,” Williams said. “And that’s a problem. I hope that having a group like this one on campus can help…make the leadership groups represent the students more accurately.”
Sara Hyneman is an officer in the Life Paths club, which is a part of the Coalition.